New look at Hazleton immigrant law

Appeals court to revisit statute as a result of Supreme Court ruling in Arizona case.

August 03, 2011|By Peter Hall, Of The Morning Call

A federal appeals court has set aside its decision invalidating Hazleton's controversial anti-illegal immigration law and will consider new arguments in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a similar law in Arizona.

The move comes nearly two months after the Supreme Court ordered the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revisit its decision striking down Hazleton's ordinance, which punished businesses and landlords for hiring or renting to illegal immigrants.

The court's order means its September decision finding the law unconstitutional no longer applies and sets the stage for attorneys to make new arguments. The court could potentially reach the opposite conclusion, allowing the city to enforce the law.

Hazleton Mayor Joe Yannuzzi said he is ecstatic about the 3rd Circuit's decision to vacate its earlier decision and is confident the city will prevail in the wake of the Arizona case.

"I'm glad it's being reviewed. We were convinced from the beginning that it was constitutional," Yannuzzi said.

But both Yannuzzi and Allentown attorney David Vaida, who helped challenge the law, said it's difficult to say how the court will rule.

The 3rd Circuit ruled last September that the Hazleton's law infringed on the federal government's exclusive jurisdiction over immigration issues. But in May, the Supreme Court upheld an Arizona law that uses the same loophole in a federal law as Hazleton's to require businesses to verify employees' immigration status.

Both the Arizona and Hazleton laws take advantage of a narrow exception in the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act, which restricts states' ability to fight the employment of illegal immigrants. The federal law prohibits states from imposing penalties on businesses that employ illegal immigrants except through licensing or permitting requirements.

Vaida said there are significant differences between the Arizona law and Hazleton's ordinance.

The Arizona law requires businesses to check the immigration status of new hires using a federal online database or face revocation of their business licenses. Critics called the sanctions the "business death penalty."

The Hazleton law also requires landlords to verify the identity and immigration status of tenants. And it doesn't distinguish between businesses and casual employers, Vaida said.